Nirvana
by blood red youth
Summary: She very rarely laughed, but when she did it stayed with him for hours afterwards. Spoilers for all of DSS and SLC. [Arra/Larten]


This is written based on the 1sentence challenge on livejournal, using theme set gamma. Also, the idea of doing a 1sentence table came from reading a fic from another fandom called _Mimesis_ the other day, which you can find in my favourites list if you're interested.

This is not in chronological order, may not make sense, is grammatically incorrect and contains spoilers for both DSS and SLC. But it is at least CANON, for once! How exciting.

Enjoy, if you're reading.

* * *

#1:RING  
When he caught sight of her watching curiously from the ring-side, he threw himself into the match in a foolish blaze of arrogance hoping that she would stay and watch – in return, his opponent left him nursing broken bones, and when he looked up she was gone.

#2:HERO  
He watched her fight clumsily and wanted to run to her rescue, atone for Malora and Alicia, prevent the inevitable – instead, he stood unpleasantly still, watched the moment she fell and waited for the sick feeling of knowing he'd made one more mistake to settle.

#3:MEMORY  
It all came out all at once – the factory, the ship, Tanish, Wester's betrayal, the moment he realized he might have saved Alicia if he hadn't been so absorbed with his duty to the clan that he had forgotten his duty to _her_ – and when Arra asked _why are you telling me this now_, honoured by his honesty, he simply reached out to grasp her hand and answered _I just wanted you to know.  
_  
#4:BOX  
He kept a small box, which she was infuriatingly never permitted to look inside or ask about – unable to resist, she casually tipped up the lid while he slept and found a dozen photographs of a woman, bright eyed and smiling, and immediately wished she hadn't.

#5:RUN  
He watched Darren squirm and try to escape her, watched her run the flames across his skin, and then watched her grimace and wince at his tears – she wasn't as cold-hearted as he'd always imagined.

#6:HURRICANE  
The wind ripped through everything, and when he glanced at her he saw straight away that she was _frightened_ – he supposed that was natural, if you cared about living or dying (it had been a long time since he really had), and he pulled her in under his arm to offer what comfort he could.

#7:WINGS  
He wishes he could fly away from the carnage, fix all these battered soldiers at once and free himself from the guilt, but she disinterestedly applies spit and bandages and doesn't seem to hear the howls of pain while they sleep – perhaps she is the truer vampire for it, perhaps he _has_ gone soft, but he can't help recoiling in disgust the next time she tries to touch him.

#8:COLD  
As long as he'd known her, Arra had never been truly sorry for anything – she was too proud for regret, too calculated for mistakes – and he had always _hated_ that about her.

#9:RED  
She never questioned his odd fashion choices, and when his cape and shirt were ripped she returned one night with near-enough identical replicas and handed them to him without a word.

#10:DRINK  
He followed her back to his cell, too drunk to care when she dodged his kisses, convinced his hard work was _about_ to pay off – but when they arrived, she steered him into his coffin and slammed the lid shut, snarling _sober up, and we'll talk._

#11:MIDNIGHT  
She watched him trying to consume some bat broth, convinced it was some kind of rite of passage, and then rolled her eyes and swallowed her laughter when he raced out of the Hall looking decidedly green.

#12:TEMPTATION  
She looked at him with coy eyes when they passed each other, so subtle nobody else might even have noticed, and it took every ounce of his strength not to grab her wrist and press her up against one of the walls then and there.

#13:VIEW  
Once, he couldn't stand it – like he'd imagined, he grabbed her arm, but before he could kiss her she had painfully broken his grip and quite viciously pushed him away; he realized that there was a distinct possibility he'd been imagining those teasing glances.

#14:MUSIC  
She very rarely laughed, but when she did it stayed with him for hours afterwards.

#15:SILK  
Mika was such a giant boring oaf, he thought as he thumbed the fabric of his latest gift to her that she'd rejected, what could she _possibly_ see in a man like that?

#16:COVER  
He covered his sleeping assistant in one of his cloaks, embarrassed at the fatherly gesture – she didn't mock him for it, and for a moment he caught a sign of warmth in her steely eyes.

#17:PROMISE  
_I will fight for you, honour you, die for you _– bandaging her own wounds as he slept off his latest fight, she bitterly realized he hadn't meant a word.

#18:DREAM  
The flames were coming closer, licking at her skin, one tendril coiling around her ankle, _so painful_, she screamed and choked on the smoke, her lungs were on fire – and Larten's hands were on the sides of her face when her eyes snapped open, whispering platitudes while her breathing slowed.

#19:CANDLE  
In the candlelight, everything softened by the drink, she was much prettier than Evanna's other assistants – if she'd only stop glaring at him he might have been able to tell her so.

#20:TALENT  
She was better than she had been that night he never got to test her at the Festival – months later, as she danced from one bar to another, performing a delicate and impressive balancing act, he watched her out of the corner of his eye and tried his best not to be impressed.

#21:SILENCE  
His throat is burning from his hoarse cries, his eyes are weary from tears, and all there is left to do is sit, her cold hand cradled against his chest, and imagine he can still hear the whisper of her voice in the silence.

#22:JOURNEY  
_Gods alone know what Evanna wants this time, _she said uneasily, unhappy to see the sorceress again and quite eager to be away from her, _you don't feel like heading back to Europe tonight, by any chance?_

#23:FIRE  
As he started the next verse of his drunken song about her, she drew close to him and slapped him hard – it couldn't have really hurt a vampire, and she doubted he would remember it in the morning, but he looked gratifyingly shocked at her heated response and kept his mouth firmly clamped shut for a pleasant few minutes afterwards.

#24:STRENGTH  
_You've gone too far this time_, she hissed, as his eyes threatened to shut from the blood loss, loyally rubbing spit into the wound – she did a valiant job of keeping him alive when he would have been otherwise happy to pass over to the afterlife then and there, his desire for Vampaneze blood temporarily sated.

#25:MASK  
To lose to Kurda, of all people, at her own game must have been mortifying – for a moment, as she tried to collect herself, there wasn't a trace of the cold hard warrior – but, as quickly as the mask had slipped it reappeared, and she spent the rest of the night snarling vows of revenge.

#26:ICE  
When he sidled up to offer her a mug of ale, hoping her mentor might subsequently take the hint and make himself scarce, they both shot him identical icy glares that sent him scurrying away, blushing to the roots of his hair.

#27:FALL  
She traced the scar on his sternum from the night, almost sixty years ago, she had nearly ripped him to shreds with a spear in one of their _friendly _matches – afterwards she had laughed as he bled, delighted to finally beat him – and, with sincere eyes, whispered _I'm sorry. _

#28:FORGOTTEN  
Arra is actually very offended when he doesn't recognize her immediately.

#29:DANCE  
She was still a striking woman, especially so in her dark Festival dress, and he was secretly quite proud when she asked him for a dance.

#30:BODY  
He was supposed to be impressed by her new collection of battle scars, but he wasn't – his lips brushed the worst ones, trying to belatedly erase the pain she must have been in when she received them.

#31:SACRED  
Gavner had been more son than friend, and Darren was more son than assistant – very little pulled at her heartstrings these nights, but watching him sit with his head in his hands in his lost assistant's hammock, the boy's notebook clasped to his chest, was enough to weaken any warrior's resolve.

#32:FAREWELLS  
She had sensed that he wanted rid of her, and eventually decided that she wished to return to the Mountain – she had been hoping for some kind of sentiment, a real farewell, but instead he simply nodded and made himself scarce before sunrise.

#33:WORLD  
Sometimes it was difficult to remember that she was closer to Gavner's age than to his – the world was still at her feet, and if she was lucky it might be another eighty years before she was as weary as he was of it.

#34:FORMAL  
He had never had any reason to shake hands with her, and no matter how hard he tried to remember he didn't think they ever had – that night, he prepared for the worst and extended a hand for her to shake, and felt a wave of relief when she didn't even hesitate.

#35:FEVER  
_I had the flu, once_ he admitted, watching her writhe in pain, already knowing that he would not be able to care for her the way Malora had cared for him – unable to bear the memory, he had located Vanez a few miles away and left her in his care for a few months until he was certain it was safe to return.

#36:LAUGH  
_I like your scar_, she teased, knowing how he'd acquired it, and laughed so hard she choked when he growled at her.

#37:LIES  
He hollowly promised _I love you_, knowing she wanted to hear it, spitting on the ground afterwards as if to remove the bitter taste of the words from his mouth.

#38:FOREVER  
Sometimes her hair is red instead of dark, sometimes her hands are smooth instead of rough, sometimes he doesn't even realize he's pretending until she does something _too Arra_ and ruins it, and he always wonders afterwards whether Alicia intends to haunt him forever.

#39:OVERWHELMED  
"He has a strong handshake, too; I think I rather like him," she commented, after bringing his assistant back to him in pieces, and he had to do a double-take to make sure he hadn't misheard her.

#40:WHISPER  
He was _desperate _to hear her last words, but no matter how many times he asked politely, demanded, threatened and begged, her lips never moved again.

#41:WAIT  
Mika's patience was clearly wearing thin by the time their shower was finished, and though Larten invited the two of them to sit and talk with him longer (hoping secretly that only one of them really would), the dark General was eager to be getting away – rolling her eyes behind his back, Arra shot him a wink, a silent promise that they could find another night when her mentor was otherwise engaged.

#42:TALK  
Confident that his assistant was asleep again, he turned to her with a wicked smile – _do you remember the night I pushed you into the swamp _he asked, and laughed like he hadn't done in years when she recited the entire story, in precise detail, and kicked him in the shin at the end as punishment.

#43:SEARCH  
She was here because it was her duty, because she cared about Darren, because Kurda was looking too suspicious – she was _not _here exclusively for his benefit, but she allowed him to hold onto her hand as they searched anyway, taking from her whatever moral support he could.

#44:HOPE  
"I love you," he floundered, tears in his eyes and blood on his shirt, and _this time_ she hoped it was the truth.

#45:ECLIPSE  
"She deserved better," he commented, voice hoarse, his old mentor's hand on his shoulder – when they took her away, he kissed her forehead and whispered _goodnight_, and wondered afterwards why he'd never done that before.

#46:GRAVITY  
When they realize Gavner is dead, they sit in silence together for hours.

#47:HIGHWAY  
"Of all the places to meet…" she supplied awkwardly, clad head-to-toe in armour in the restaurant of a rest stop, eyeing the rest of the Cirque troupe as they filed in behind him – it was going to be a bizarre evening for the staff.

#48:UNKNOWN  
It was a relief to let go of the rope – whether he was headed for Paradise or not, he hoped she'd be there too.

#49:LOCK  
_This is not your time, not yet, _he locked their fingers together, brow furrowed, and her heart broke for him, knowing he would blame himself for this somehow.

#50:BREATHE  
He reminds himself not to even breathe; perhaps he's finally gone mad, but there are cold fingers on his cheek and he prefers to close his eyes and imagine than open them and shatter the illusion – _You're taking your time _she jokes in his mind, and he wonders how much longer there is to wait.


End file.
